The plaintiff, Podogaetam Holdings Inc., brought a motion for partial summary judgment against the defendants, Stephane Langlois and Pierre Charron.
The plaintiff sought a finding that Langlois breached his contract, and initially that Charron was negligent and breached fiduciary duties.
At the outset, the plaintiff withdrew the negligence claim against Charron and acknowledged Langlois was not disputing the breach of contract claim, leading to judgment against Langlois on that basis only.
All claims against Christian Pilon were dismissed by agreement.
The core of the motion proceeded on the breach of fiduciary duty claim against Charron.
The court dismissed the motion for partial summary judgment, finding genuine issues of credibility and conflicting evidence regarding the circumstances of the loan, the plaintiff's reliance on Charron, and the plaintiff's acknowledgment of risks and waiver of independent legal advice.
The court also noted that the issue of fiduciary duty could not be readily bifurcated from other negligence claims, making partial summary judgment inappropriate and risking inconsistent findings.
